The Bush Administration’s appalling, unprofessional handling of
security and threat information is on display again with
news–characterized as non-credible by Homeland Security–that
terrorists plan to hit seven NFL stadiums with a dirty bomb. The
information is not credible and yet, the Bush Administration is
compelled to distribute it? How much longer must we endure this
kind of amateur performance?
Seventeen years ago, in the aftermath of Pan Am 103 and allegations
that the U.S. Government warned its employees to steer clear of the
bombed plane, I was directly involved in developing and implementing
the policy of what to tell the public about potential threats.
The policy we came up with was simple and effective–if we had
information that was credible and could not be countered we would warn
the public. Such information would allow the Government to tell
American citizens what they needed to do to be safe against a
particular threat. Otherwise, we kept our mouths shut and worked
behind the scenes to deal
with the threat and not unnecessarily alarm the American people.
I did this while working for George H.W. Bush, 41. The old man
understood how to do security.
The new Bush Administration has dropped the ball. Instead of
dealing with reality they are opting to scare the hell out of people.